Two sides separated only by goal difference at the bottom end of the table go head-to-head this Sunday in the seventh round of the A-League. Newcastle will be looking to end a three-game losing streak against their local rivals the Mariners, who will want to put an embarrassing loss to an under-strength Wellington Phoenix side last week behind them.

The Jets saw their existing injury problems deepen on their trip to Melbourne City last week, as skipper Nigel Boogaard suffered an ankle injury, meaning that three of the starting Newcastle back four are now confined to the sidelines. The Mariners are not without their own defensive issues: Jake Adelson and Harry Ashcroft remain absent, and three further defenders are doubtful. This goes some way towards explaining why these two sides have only one clean sheet between them in the last five rounds of the A-League.

The high average goals-per-game figures for these teams leads us to the goals markets. As the Mariners have only beaten last-place Adelaide away from home this season (and have gone W2-D9-L20 on the road since 2014/15), we’re going for Newcastle to win and both teams to score.